Well listen, I'm ready to preach God's word. Are you ready to receive it today? The year was 1978, and I was a young lad growing up in Michigan, and uh in 1976 a new toy came on the market that was all of the rage. And I would say that by 1978, my family, we weren't like the trend centers when it came to like uh purchasing things. I was like the last to get everything. I was the last to get uh the game systems in the 80s. I was the last to get a bicycle when I was 12. I mean, we were like the slow we were on the slow pace. We got the I always got the hand-me-downs. So like my first bike was a had a big flowery banana seed on it, you know. So, uh because I was the baby of the family. But in 1978, this this toy became all the craze, and we didn't have the options like y'all have now, where you see it on your phone and and you can text pictures of what you want or go on to Amazon. We had to open up the JCPenney or the Montgomery Ward catalog. Oh, I'm preaching now. You ever opened a Montgomery Ward catalog, and we'd have to we'd have to find our way to the toy section, and then you would circle the toy that you wanted and fold the page over so that when your parents went back through the the the catalog, they would know what you wanted for Christmas. And it was in 1978 that I got one of the greatest toys ever made on the planet. And his name is Stretch Armstrong. And the reason why Stretch is such a besides his outfit, is a little risky. I think my mom wanted to sew like a full-on like jogging suit for him. Like that's the first thing she did. She was like, that's a little bit too much skin showing. But uh, we love Stretch Armstrong because you could literally stretch him in any direction and he would just bounce right back. And it is the toy that would later teach us the year that year we would learn the reality of it's okay for you to be stretched in all the ways because you're actually made to bounce back. So um, so just turn to your neighbor and say, it's a joy to be stretched. And uh let everybody else know the one next you just let them know because I got that bounce back. Today we begin uh a brand new series that will carry us through the month of December. It's it's called Throwback Christmas. And uh we're we're not just gonna deck the halls, although doesn't this building look beautiful? And just want to thank uh Pastor Ursh and the whole team for the whole team that made this possible. It looks tremendous and uh so festive. And I mean I've I've been driving down the street. I don't know, I guess it's all this snow this year that has made me absolutely love this season. Like it feels like Christmas season. We got a lot of snow, and listen, if it's gonna be cold, there might as well be snow on the ground. Like you can't change it, so we might as well just let it snow, let it snow, let it snow. So it looks amazing, but we're not just ducking the halls this holiday season. We're gonna um we're gonna bring back some of our favorite childhood uh toys, and and we're gonna learn that even old toys can reveal new truths for us. And um, so we're gonna start with this one, Stretch Armstrong. I don't know how many ever had a Stretch Armstrong when you were a kid, a few of you. You guys have no clue. It it it relaunched, I think, in like 2002 or something like that, and and this is a new and improved version of Stretch Armstrong because he wasn't quite this muscly when uh he came out in 1978. So uh anyway, it's an incredible, incredible uh illustration for us today because it's not just a toy that we're looking at, but we're looking at a parable. Because when we think of Stretch Armstrong and we we we we work it around and stretch stretch them around, we realize that what looks like would break us, God is able to actually use uh to build within us something stronger. And so the big idea for this series, this this today's message of this series is this there is joy in stretching because God is working through your trials to produce something greater in you, through you, and for his glory. So that's the big idea, and that's what I want you to walk away with, and especially in this season, because in this season you may be stressed with finances and you may be stressed with the schedule. Like, does everybody have to plan a Christmas party on the same day? And we have to figure out how to get there, all of the school programs that you have to go see, the work parties, you're stretched, you know, by how many people are driving on the streets during December. I feel like everybody parks their car all year until December. And then they decide they're gonna get out and drive, and they drive like they've not driven all year in December. But maybe that's what's stretching you. Maybe it's uh relationally you're being stretched or all the things that might be stretched. Well, I'm gonna tell you, it's okay to be stretched because God's given you the ability to bounce straight back. So let's look at today's passage of scripture and let's find out how we uh get that bounce back within us. You ready? James chapter 1, verse 2 that says this consider it pure joy. Everybody say pure joy. Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, that whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance, and let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete and not lacking anything. And in verse 5, he says, and if any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. So let's find out. How do we get this bounce back? Here we go. Number one, three principles. Number one is this joy begins with a new lens. So look at this first phrase of this passage, James chapter 1, 2. We'll look at this first little bit of the passage. He's Paul says this consider it pure joy. Consider it pure joy. The Greek word for consider when you do a word study on it and you break it down, and the best word picture I can give you is the word reframe. Have you ever noticed if you have a photo or a work of art and you're you're you're charged with the opportunity to frame that artwork or frame that photo, and you you go in, and you know, sometimes you can just go to Target and buy a frame and put it on, and it's no big deal. It's done. But on elevated pieces of art or elevated photos of the family, you you want to put a little bit more into it. So you want to you want to mat it, you want to nice frame it, and so you take it in somewhere and they help you frame it. And they'll go through all the colors of the frames. And if you'll notice, if you have a dark frame around a photo, it highlights the dark features of the photo. And if you put a light frame around that photo, it will highlight all of the lighter features of that photo. What I'm telling you is it really does matter how you frame and how you see what you're facing. Because many of us in life, we are actually probably wondering, what is the breaking point? What is the point? And I'm gonna tell you, when I had this toy in 1978, I would give one arm to my cousin and I would go as far as I could go, all across, as far as I could go across that living room. And you know what? It wouldn't matter how far we stretched him, he always bounced straight back. And a lot of you are wondering, where's the breaking point? And I'm gonna tell you what, instead of looking for the breaking point, start considering like when is the bounce back? Because I know I'm gonna bounce back. I'm just wondering, when's it gonna be? When is it? When is it gonna finally release and I'll bounce back because I'll be better than I was at the beginning. Look at this scripture in 1 Corinthians chapter 4. It says that 2 Corinthians 4, 17, says, For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. So if we can just learn to reframe what we're looking at in the stretching process, you will understand that you can see a better picture of what God is doing in it. I also thought about this. I don't know if you've ever seen the difference between a normal lens of a camera and a wide angle lens. In a normal lens, it just it you just see just a fraction of the real image. But if you put a wide angle lens on there, the image expands the width of the picture frame, and suddenly you see so much more. And that's what that's what Paul's telling us to do. Consider it joy, reframe how you see it and see the bigger picture. Don't just look at what's happening in the moment, but look at the bigger picture. Something good is about to happen. And this is what I would tell you this. I would tell you this that uh if you look through the lens of self-pity and fear, you'll be in trouble. Because you'll feel alone, you'll feel forgotten, you'll feel overlooked, you feel like you'll never amount to anything, you'll never make it. But if you will look through the lens of God's promises and his purpose, you will persevere to the end. And I would say, pray this. If you're being stretched in a situation, I would encourage you to pray this. Pray, Lord, help me see this the way you see this. There's a way that Joseph saw that what his brothers meant for evil, God meant for good. There are situations in life where if we can just see the way God sees it, it will help us to manage the stretching process and realize when we bounce back, we'll be even better than before. Number two, perseverance is produced through the process. You don't pray for patience and then things start to happen suddenly. My wife, when we're driving down the street, she has to just like tap my shoulder sometimes or just put her hand on my arm and just tap my arm because I get so impatient for somebody to turn left or turn right or get out of my way or just my God, do something. Just drive. I don't know what you're doing. And she's just like, it's gonna be okay. We're not in that big of a hurry. But I I am in a hurry, but that's you don't get patience by things happening right away. You get patience by waiting in the process, waiting on what God's doing. And the question is not, will this produce something in me? It is when will this produce what it's supposed to produce in me. John 15, 5 says this. Well, let me give you the phrase. Yeah, jump back to that phrase. John uh James 1.3. This is the passage, it says, we know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. That word perseverance is is absolute is is like the best word picture I could give you is the ability to sustain. The ability to have patience, but not just patience in the way of sitting down and waiting, but working your way through the situation, sustaining yourself until until God fulfills the promise in you. John 5, 15, 5 says this. Jesus says, I'm the vine and you are the branches, and if you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit. And then this is the phrase, apart from me, you can do nothing. So this is what I know. The the process will produce perseverance as long as you stay connected to God. Because as soon as we become disconnected, we're gonna dry out, we're gonna get bitter, we're gonna be broken, we're gonna miss out, we're not gonna be able to be connected to what God is doing in us because we've disconnected ourselves from the vine. This is what I was thinking. Ursana had uh a few weeks ago somebody reach out to her and say, This, you know, this is what life is, this is it's this, it's this, it's this, it's this, and whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. And uh life's terrible. And uh Urshana just spent a moment and she just took a breath, and then I feel like that breath out was her own thoughts, and the breath in was the Holy Spirit, and she texted her back a verse and some encouragement, and it was like right in that moment of sending that verse, the the response was, Oh, that's just what I needed, the word of God. Oh, I feel so much better. It wasn't it wasn't just wisdom that Pastor Ursh was sending to somebody, it was actually the Holy Spirit, and that is the connection we need. And most of us give up in discomfort or disconnect in discomfort because we we're not staying true to the word of God and filling our lives with the word, and so we feel left out and alone and overlooked, but we're really not, we just disconnected ourselves, and we're not able to persevere because we're not connected, and so I I don't know. I I had an idea that I should have bought one of these and and and left it out in the sun and let it just bake. Or cut a hole in it and let the inside ooze out, because the reality reality is it like stretch Armstrong is able to do what he's supposed to do because everything is still connected and in place. And sometimes we get disconnected and we cannot have the bounce back in our life because we're missing that key connection with God's people, with God's word, and with God's presence. So let's let's think about this. I was thinking about in strength training and weight lifting, you know, you can go lift a lot of weights, but still not ever really get stronger and not produce a lot of muscle. I'm kind of proof of it because I've been lifting weights for years. Like I like how many times you go to the gym? I go a lot. Okay, well, they you just got this. Well, they just say, well, you got long muscles. Because, you know, people with short muscles, they can flex their arms and muscles pop out and look great, but you got the, you got, you got, and I'm like, listen, I've been going to the gym. And then you know what they say? It's not just the it's it's it's not just the weightlifting, but it's the nutrition. You can't put garbage in your body and expect better results. It's nutrition. What are you putting in? And then it's not just nutrition, it's hydration. Because the really, the really what helps your muscles recover and what helps them move freely and and be the best muscle that can be is to be hydrated, the water, because the water is what moves the nutrients to the muscles and helps repair them and and and make them stronger as you lift those weights. And then the last piece is rest. Like you don't lift the same weight every single day, every single moment, and expect to be stronger and bigger because you're never allowing the rest frame to build that strength, your muscle to recover out of that workout. So I say all that to say that when God is trying to produce perseverance in you, it may feel like, oh, I don't know if I'll ever survive this. This is gonna be a real problem for me. No, just allow God to do the process in you and through you and stay connected because as long as you'll stay connected, you'll be able to bounce back. And then the third, the third thing is this oh, this is what I'd say. Pray this. Ask for God's help to navigate the tug, but stay connected in the Word of God. And then the last one, number three, perseverance produces maturity, and maturity produces joy. I love this in verse 4. It says, Let the perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. Mature and complete, it's it's how you become joyful or full of joy in every circumstance, is when you're mature. Because a mature person can see the process, see the perseverance that's that is sustaining them, and then understand that through all of that they're better, they're more mature, their joy is complete. They lack nothing because it's not about what you gather in life, it's about how you move through life and what you experience in life and how you respond to all of that. I have some verses here, Hebrews 12, too. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith because of the joy awaiting him. He endured the cross. So, how we get joy through the process of perseverance and as we mature is we realize we're not going through this for ourselves. We're going through this so that we can help somebody else. And if you want to keep joy a situation, don't ask yourself, how am I gonna get through this? Ask yourself, who can I help on the other side of this? All right, the next one, Romans 8.18. I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. Not for us, not by us, but in us. And so we understand the process of perseverance that makes us mature in life and full of joy, that what we're facing is just temporary, but what we'll experience will be eternal. And then Philippians 1, 6, being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Jesus Christ. Listen, the stretching process that God begins in you, he will complete it within you, and it will be for his purpose, and it will be for his promises to be revealed in your life. I was thinking about the potter who forms the clay on the potter's wheel. And, you know, man, that's not, that's just, we we don't really recognize how much pressure and how much movement and pulling and tugging it takes as the potter is working that piece of art. But I'm gonna tell you that though the pulling and process of that clay may seem, it may seem uncertain and it may seem dis uncomfortable, but I'm gonna tell you when God has you on that wheel and he's working in you what he has formed inside of you to be produced for everyone else to see. I'm gonna tell you this: every move is intentional, every move has a purpose, and on the other side, he's forming you into something that he planned for you from the beginning. God is forming something in you that comfort cannot cultivate and ease cannot develop. The diamond doesn't just form. And be beautiful without all the hard work to get through that rock. And so, as we close today, I would just say like you just lean into this space of the stretching, that it's intentional, that it has purpose, and it's going to produce in you the form that God had in mind from the beginning. You ever think about a rubber band and how useless that rubber band is until you stretch it? And if you're only trying to tie up just a couple of pencils or a couple of sticks or a couple of things with a rubber band, you gotta stretch it, and that means you gotta pull it and twist it and pull it again and twist it, and you gotta keep stretching that until you get it to the right, the right stretch, the right uh tension in order for it to hold those things in place. And sometimes that's what the stretching is doing to us. It's just holding us in place until God is done with us. Back to stretch Armstrong for a minute. I want you to realize in this season, in this busy season, this holiday season, when we can really allow life to stretch us beyond, and we just think, well, I'll just make it through this time and then and then beginning in 2026, I'll get back into the regimen of the things that I want to do for real. But I'll just let myself, you know, like I'll just be off schedule, off, I'll just not manage my life well. I'll just let everything like let the stress come, all the things. Listen, I'm gonna tell you, you can get through this season with flying colors much better and be ready for 2026 and not have to start over. Just but you have to manage the tension, and this is this is what I would tell you that you have the capacity to stretch, to bounce back. You have that capacity, and the capacity is what's inside of you. It's what's in you that causes you to bounce back. So you see from another lens, you you begin with a new lens, you you allow perseverance to work through that process, and then you allow it to bring maturity and joy in you. You do all of that, but it's because of what's in you. And I thought I would close with this little acronym of shape. It's what's in you, it's the shape that God has given you within you. And it's one, your spiritual gifts. God's giving you gifts that will help you get through what's stretching you. Number two, it's your heart, it's your desire and your passion. And God, the Bible says that God gives us the desires of our heart. And I've said this before, many of you think that means God gives us what we want. But actually, what God is giving us is God is giving us the right desires. God gives us the desires of our heart. I want God to give me what. I want to desire what God gives me. I want to desire what God desires for me to have. And so that's what God's putting in you in these processes. And this is how you come back to the right shape is number one, you have spiritual gifts. Number two, you have heart, your desires and passion. Number two, you have an anointing, the Holy Spirit on you that separates you from everything else. And so if you're separated from everything else in the process but connected to Him, that's what you're gonna get to. The anointing is what lifts the standard in your life. The anointing is what lifts the burden and destroys the yoke in your life. And he puts the anointing in you. Paul said, stir up the gift given you that was given when the hand of God, the anointing of God, was placed on your life. The next one, personality. Literally, God has placed within you a personality that will help you get through things. And personality can be two ways. It's generally in these two ways. It's either task-driven or people-driven. And if you are a task-driven person, God just placed within you the capacity to keep getting things done, even though things are difficult. And if it's a people, if it's drawn to people, God will put people around you to help you get through what is difficult until it's done. It's what God put in you, that personality. God gave that to you to help you get through the stretching moments and the last thing, your experiences. Because you've been stretched before, and look how good you look today. Yeah. You've been stretched before, but if I look at you, I wouldn't know that you had a stretching process in your life because you look just the way God designed you. I wouldn't even know it. And that is all to the glory of God. And if he did it before in you, he'll do it again for you. And so my thought today is this in throwback Christmas, that we we learn the parable assigned to this toy is that there's joy in stretching because God is going to use our tests and our trials to form in us, to form through us, and to form for his glory just what he's designed for our lives. Can you receive that word today? Amen. Let's pray.